Going above and beyond: New be.Tech charter school helping students be all they can be

Monday

Feb 3, 2014 at 12:01 AM

STOCKTON - Brian Burns, 17, rolled a stuffed chicken breast through a bowl of breading mix and placed it in line with a dozen others.

Keith Reid

STOCKTON - Brian Burns, 17, rolled a stuffed chicken breast through a bowl of breading mix and placed it in line with a dozen others.

This was dinner for his parents, as well as the parents of his classmates at the Manteca-based be.Tech charter school, which features vocational learning academies.

Thursday's parent dinner and open house was a big occasion for the 11/2-year-old school, which changed its name from Manteca Unified Vocational Academy to be.Tech in December and offered an opportunity to roll out the accompanying marketing campaign that some students say has a crisp, exciting sound to it.

The "be" in be.Tech stands for "beyond education," Principal Diane Medeiros said. At this school, students can be what they want:

be.Cuisine, for culinary arts.

be.Industrial, for industrial arts.

be.Eco, for green technology programs.

be.Independent, for independent study.

be.Adult, for the adult school.

For culinary arts student Burns, the goal is to be.Successful.

"I got a scholarship already to go back east at the New England Culinary Institute," he said. "I've known for a while that I want to be a chef. Being (at be.Tech) instead of a normal high school gives me the basic knowledge of how to work with food."

The be.Tech campus is a little bit unusual in that it is in buildings that surround the three-story Manteca Unified School District office on Louise Avenue, just east of Interstate 5.

However, an industrial-grade kitchen is accompanied by a student-run cafe on campus for the culinary arts program. The industrial arts building is powered by solar panels that make it a "zero-net" energy building. Inside, students get to use fancy equipment such as a machine that laser engraves designs onto wood, glass and plastic.

As a gift to parents last week, the students engraved corkboard cup coasters with the be.Tech logo on it.

The school also has a 3-D printer that teacher Ryan Costa said brings a new opportunity for students to learn and apply design concepts.

This fall, the school will also open a brand new academy, be.First, which will provide training in first response occupations such as paramedic services and firefighting, among others, Medeiros said.

Medeiros is hopeful more students and parents will see the value of the school, and the new name seems to be helping create some excitement.

Junior Violet Martinez, however, said she preferred the MUVA name. But she's just happy to be in a situation that will allow her to hone her skills as an up-and-coming chef.

Others say they're all in with the be.Tech brand.

"I think the new name sounds professional," said junior Sam Risso, 17. "And when I tell people I go to be.Tech, they're definitely interested and sound more excited."

Contact reporter Keith Reid at (209) 546-8257 or kreid@recordnet.com. Follow him at recordnet.com/edublog and on Twitter @KReidme.